Configuration

Cents reads settings from ~/.cents/config.toml and overrides them with environment variables. Everything below is optional unless an agent that needs the key is invoked.

~/.cents/config.toml

fmp_api_key = "..."            # financialmodelingprep.com
alpaca_api_key = "..."         # alpaca.markets
alpaca_secret_key = "..."
news_api_key = "..."           # newsapi.org (optional)
fred_api_key = "..."           # fred.stlouisfed.org (optional)
default_scan_threshold = 5.0

The database lives at ~/.cents/data/cents.db (SQLite, created on first run). Override with CENTS_DB_PATH.

Environment variables

Env vars take precedence over the TOML file. Useful for CI, ephemeral shells, or per-portfolio profiles.

Variable	Purpose
FMP_API_KEY	Fundamentals, moat, insider agents
ALPACA_API_KEY	Technical agent + broker integration
ALPACA_SECRET_KEY	Technical agent + broker integration
NEWS_API_KEY	Sentiment agent
FRED_API_KEY	Macro agent
ANTHROPIC_API_KEY	Sentiment agent (LLM scoring of headlines)
CENTS_DB_PATH	Override SQLite location
CENTS_OUTPUT_FORMAT	text (default) or json
CENTS_SCAN_THRESHOLD	Default watchlist alert threshold (in delta points)
CENTS_WEBHOOK_URL	Outbound webhook for alerts (currently plumbed-only)

Provider guide

FMP — Financial Modeling Prep

• Link: financialmodelingprep.com
• Free tier: yes (rate-limited; sufficient for personal research)
• Scope: fundamentals (P/E, margins, ROE, debt), moat metrics (margin stability, ROIC trends), insider transactions, analyst ratings.

Alpaca

• Link: alpaca.markets
• Free tier: yes (paper trading + market data)
• Scope: equity prices, bars, and 52-week range for the technical agent; position/order endpoints for the optional broker integration.

FRED — Federal Reserve Economic Data

• Link: fred.stlouisfed.org
• Free tier: yes (no usage cap for typical research patterns)
• Scope: Fed funds rate, yield curve, VIX, unemployment — the macro agent’s entire input set.

NewsAPI

• Link: newsapi.org
• Free tier: yes (developer plan, limited to 100 requests/day and 24h delay)
• Scope: recent headlines used by the sentiment agent. Optional — the sentiment agent degrades to a no-op if the key is missing.

Anthropic

• Link: console.anthropic.com
• Free tier: trial credit
• Scope: powers the sentiment agent’s headline classification. Without it, sentiment falls back to keyword heuristics.

Verifying

Once keys are set, cents status prints which providers are wired up and where the database lives.

cents status